Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Today, I am torn between two different moments that I captured. The one above ultimately won a spot for Day 352. Luckily, I am planning another project, actually several, to give the non-365 images their day to shine. For now, here is a weed that I captured and used a shallow depth of field to get a smooth bokeh light off the back of a passing car. Since the weed dipped below horizon, the light gives a nice separation of the weed and the background. Have to always be thinking outside of the box.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

With 15 days left, it's time to lace up the running shoes for the final stretch of this project. I feel like writing a book about all I've learned from the journey and those who I have learned from on their own 365. For anyone who happens on to this blog, project, or page...If you take nothing else from what I, or the other 365ers have done, it should be that no accomplishment can be completed without the first step! Whether you a photographer, teacher, farmer, or just someone dreaming big, a plan has no progress without action. Don't let the small stuff stop you. No gear? rent or borrow it. No one to shoot, ask a cousin or friend and buy them lunch. No time? Turn off the TV, you will be surprise how much time you have. There is no good reason why you shouldn't be practicing you craft daily whatever it is. Working hard is not a chore, it's a necessity for success. Make a change tomorrow, big or small, just make one.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Sometimes you just have to go for it! Coming home around midnight, we past this field that had between 1-2 feet of fog on the ground. After getting Sara into the house, I ran back out to shoot a timed exposure with the tree and fog. It's too bad there wasn't more fog to work with, but I do like the look of the shot. I am glad I went out and shot the image, otherwise I would be kicking myself in the morning for not going out and shooting it.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Tonight, I had a Mountain Dew Throwback with Real Sugar, so now I'm Real(ly)awake. I used the flashlight app again, but then also used my iPOD screen to light the other side of the subject. While I do have images that have the can more luminated, like the look of the 90 degree side light, blacking out the front.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

A soda bottle, cell phone, and a camera...why not use them together to get an image of the day. I downloaded the flashlight app on my phone then, at 100%, placed it behind the glass bottle to light it. I was surprised at how the light traveled up the bottle. Experimenting is always fun.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Just because it's raining outside, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be out trying to capture a little beauty. As the sun was going down, there was a slight down pour, I went out to see what memories I could make. I ended up under a pine tree looking through the needles for places to shoot that were also protected from the rain. But I happen to catch a drop of water amongst the needles and bark. I guess you don't know what you are looking for, until you find it.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I have been thinking of ways to shoot this Potpourri leaf since I got it in the mail from cards that I ordered. The smell of this Potpourri takes my mind back to the moment I received the product in the mail. It's almost as powerful as looking at a memory captured on film that takes us back to that moment in time, to a place where you can smell whatever was in the air then.

I was watching the Live Schrader Photography Fireside Chats today with my good friend Greg Schrader. He touched on how the story behind the memory can invite others in to share and experience the moment. I cannot wait for the next chat with Greg.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Tonight image was a special request from my daughter. We have been reading the Velveteen Rabbit to her now for the past few days, so she wanted a picture of 'Velveen Rabbit' as she likes to calls him. This is her new bunny that she, occasionally, brings to bed with her. I used a 580EX at the camera right, set at 1/16 power to get the lighting.

Friday, August 20, 2010

On the surface, a crayon is just a semi-soft, dyed stick that leave residue in it's path. But to a 3½ year old named Sara, it is as much of a tool for expression as Michael Angelo's paint brush. Sara recently drew a unicorn, that looked pretty good. I started thinking about how she started getting better at her arts. Simple, every chance she gets she is drawing something. And every chance we get, we are hanging her art up around the house, encouraging her to keep drawing and being creative. For those looking for the secret formula for becoming a Pro Photographer or Pro [insert your craft here], it's very simple....U + A LOT OF HARD WORK = CHANCE @ SUCCESS, with a remainder of HAPPINESS. Work at it as much as you can, know what you are working with, understand what you want to accomplish, and how you can achieve it. Practice your craft and photograph your passion.

Still need proof?!

Then I'm pleased to display 'The Unicorn, with magic at the top of the horn' by Sara 3½ August 13th, 2010.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Ok, so one more image. Tonight, I also got this shot of a couple looking at their camera while standing in-front of a display window. Just liked the feel of the image too much not to post. Sometime dark images can have a light surprise. This is comfy part two, and they look comfy together. I was originally going to just shoot the display but saw these two having a moment and adjusted to capture them in the image. After I took the picture they walked away into the night. I would have liked to pass them a card, that way I could send them the image. But I didn't want to approach them and take away from the moment I was seeing.

Why give them the image?

Why not? Imagine they are a couple on their first date, or even first date after being engaged. He could be simply visiting from out of town, but having this image would bring back the emotions of that precise moment when they were looking at the pictures they took of each other. Maybe some one will see this and forward it on to the couple, even though they are tough to make out.

I will need to start another blog or section of the blog called "The 563 Project" all the images that didn't make the image of the day will have to make sure I have enough work to last the year.

The people at Starbucks really know how to make a place look comfy. Perla spotted this nook when she went to get a grande-latte something [forgive me, I'm not a coffee drinker]. When she came out, she told me about the chairs, so I went in and captured a couple images tonight for the blog. I will need chairs like this for the studio, time to start looking.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Just my daughter's cartoon figure of Ni-Hao Kai Lan, using a little back-lighting and a foil card to fill. I really love the light falling off and mixing with the back light on the figurine. Just realized today, actually my wife pointed this out to me, that when I made the foil card I used the dull side of the foil not the shiny side. Yay me. After I flipped the foil around there was an instant difference. Oh the small things. And keep an eye on the blog, this weekend I will be introducing our newest photographer to join the crew.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Today I took Sara to the farmer's market to get some vegetables. Of course she walked out with a donuts, a cookie, and some blueberries. I picked up a dozen ears of corn, then I decided to shoot them for the image tonight.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Tonight, I photographed one of Sara's toy robots. I used a LED light from the camera left and a foil card at camera right, to fill in the right side, to light the subject. In addition to the shallow depth of field, I like the light fall off from right to left even though the direction the of the light (from the bottom) is going left to right. It's almost like a contradiction.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

While I don't care for coffee, it makes for an interesting subject. I still have to admit that I am addicted to shadow-heavy images, so I'm going to try to figure out why I like looking at dark and dramatic images over lighter ones. Sounds like a good series for the week, 'Images that make me tick.'

Saturday, August 14, 2010

While in a parking deck in downtown Akron, I spotted the above lights under a bridge. The only thing I can figure out is that they are for Waste Management workers, as there were a group of waste bins below. It is always fun to find interesting objects when taking a quick photo walk.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Our good friends Iisha & Corwyn [CJ] are Married! They had a beautiful ceremony at the Grace Bible Church in Manchester, with not one dry eye as the vows were being exchanged. Everyone was touched by the emotional words of Iisha, as she spoke on how she felt when she almost lost CJ. CJ was seriously wounded in the war and had to spend months recovering in the hospital in DC. When he came back to Ohio, it was still a long road ahead. But you will see from the images, they are making amazing progress together.

After the ceremony, we went to the Akron Zoo Garden for pictures of the wedding party. Next, the party went to Guy's Party Center for the reception. Here are a few highlights from their wedding...

Perla and I thank you for giving us the opportunity to be a part of your amazing day.

Meet Toya, Devonn, and Diane, awesome flight attendants who work for Airtran. We had a flight from Denver to Ohio at 6 am, and the crew made it 100% fun. From the opening announcement where Devonn said "I am pleased to introduce the best pilot at Airtran, Captain Tim John, who is unfortunately on vacation..." While the plane was making its way to the runway, Diane was passing out headphones for passengers to listen to XM Radio. As the plane rounded a corner Diane braced herself for the turn and said "See, I'm risking my life for your entertainment!" Later in the flight, Toya and Devonn were walking down the aisle collecting trash saying 'trash, paper, wrappers.' Then, when they came back up the aisle they were asking for 'Extra cash, jewelry, watches.' They remained professional but made the trip fun. You have to admit getting passengers engaged and actually paying attention the safety instructions at 6 am in the morning is a feat!

Through all this, Airtran had a computer issue causing some flights to be delayed. There wasn't a single grumpy person getting off of our flight. Devonn, Toya, and Diane were all gracious enough to allow me to photograph them, after the passengers were off of the plane, for the blog. Next, I will be sending a long email to Airtran corporate to let them know how much we enjoyed the flight.

Thanks Toya, Devonn, and Diane - You made our day!

Lesson of the day was the importance of a team that meshes well together. We seriously got the best of the best!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Meet Scott Cohen and Skip Bourne, brothers from another mother. Skip's Summer School is out and we gave it an "A+"! We all learned a tremendous amount of knowledge over the past 2½ days. Posing, lighting, marketing, client relationships, personal projects and more. I can't wait to write a summary of everything in the next few days.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Today we learned a lot! From the essence of your clients from Joe Buissink, previsualisation with Scott Bourne, who gave a major shot out to Tasra Dawson (Yay Tasra!!), and branding & online marketing with Jasmine Star, which she rock it at 100%. Then I went to the Lighting Lab with Tony Corbell & Bobbi Lane to learn a few tips & techniques on lighting and got a few headshots for the blog. There were a few more speakers who shared a tremendous amount of knowledge as well, I will blog more on them tomorrow.

But we ended the night with a few other photographers at the famous In-and-Out Burgers, Double Double - Animal style! While there, I snagged the above Palm Tree shot, just trying to shoot it in a different light and angle.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Today, we took a drive just to get lost and find something new. After about 20 minutes of driving, we happened upon a field with roosters, lambs, quail, and 2 horses. Perla pull over so I could get a shot of the day. Once I got the fence, the above horse started to approach until it was only inches in front of me. My first thought was 'Thank you for being a friendly horse!' but then I was thinking, while kneeling down for the shot...'Do horses spit? Nah...that's Llamas...I think'. Well I'm happy to report there were no surprises during the shoot. Sadly, Sara was sleeping when we got there and would not wake up to say 'Hi'. She did, however, enjoy the images later once we were home.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I was putting the final touches on a slide show for a wedding when we lost power. Luckily, I have an APC backup power supply! Had enough time to save my last changes be for the PC shutdown into darkness. The backup battery pack was a $90 investment and tonight it saved me from having to redo the slide show later. Another one of those 'things' you should have. * This post was sent completely from my smartphone!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

One sign with a big meaning. We have signed to Sara since she was an infant. The results are that she knows more than 60 different signs and can put small sentences together. This past weekend we were at a get together with my step-brother's family, mom, and relatives for his daughters 1st birthday. While there we were using sign language, speaking Spanish and English, just a good reminder of how diverse our family is. And yes Sara is exposed to all three languages, plus I'm adding a little Japanese to the mix.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Tonight I was playing with a macro lens, cell phone (light under the acorns), and of course, acorns. Just looking at different ways to light objects, and the flashlight function on my cell phone was just powerful enough under a toy desktop to help illuminate these acorns.

Speaking of light, I just realized that my image that was submitted in the Pictage & Rangefinder Cover Contest is now able to be voted for, Image #931. So if you feel so inclined, please give it a vote.